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Marc Gander, spokesman for the Consumer Action Group, branded some of
the exchange rates uncovered by our investigation as ‘outrageously
expensive’.

He says: ‘This is an example of companies making money from unknowing
consumers for doing very little. I’m sure nobody thinks they are going
to lose nearly 20 pc of their holiday cash just by changing their
money.’

Prepaid cards that you load with money before your holiday can offer
better exchange rates, but they hit you with fees of up to £10 to cash
them in on your return.

But the most expensive transactions are those made at bureaux de
change at airports and ferry terminals, where exchange rates are
normally less favourable than on the High Street or online.

For example, every £100 at a Travelex outlet at Heathrow Airport
would buy you €103.20. But if you changed that money back you would get
just £81.24, leaving you almost £19 out of pocket, according to website
Travelsupermarket.

For those heading Stateside, £100 at the same Travelex branch would
buy you $149.39. But if you were to change that money back to sterling
you would get only £81.70 — a loss of more than £18.

Travelex has better rates if you book on the internet and pick up the cash at the airport.

And for a £3.99 fee paid upfront, it will let you sell back money at the same rate you bought it for.

A Travelex spokeswoman says: ‘The shops we run at airports offer our
customers effectively a tourist premium service that is open 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year. This clearly incurs an additional cost.’

Bob Atkinson of Travelsupermarket says: ‘Ignore the smokescreens of
commissions and exchange rates. Simply ask the question “How many pounds
will I get for my foreign currency?” and go for the one with the
highest amount.’

Even those using some of the most popular places on the High Street
face losing large chunks of their money if they bring cash back from
holiday.

At the Post Office, £100 would buy you €108.27 on its Travel Money
Card Plus, but if you converted money back on your return you would
receive only £85.23.

And it charges €6 or $7.50 on top of this to cash in the card, depending on whether it’s euros or dollars.

The Post Office argues it is unlikely that travellers would be fully
hit by its charges for selling back currency because they’d probably
keep the euros on their cards until they next needed some.

The best deals tend to come from online currency specialists and prepaid cards.Onlinefx.com would give back £94 on a dollar transaction.

New rules mean card companies are now not allowed to stop you cashing
in your card even if it has less than €10 on it, and can no longer set a
time limit on you getting your money back.

Also, if the card company becomes insolvent your money will be protected.FairFX’s
prepaid currency cards, which you can order online, would give back
£96.37 for every £100 that had been changed into euros. But you must pay
£10 to convert the card into sterling, bringing your total down to
£86.37.

FairFX spokesman David Bain said that the charge was to cover the
cost of employees to convert the card back as well as a charge from a
supplier.Caxton’s prepaid dollars card would give you £95.32 back, with a £1.50 charge to cash the card in.

The ICE card is also good value: those exchanging £100 into Euros and
then back again receive £97.98, and £97.98 for the same transaction
made in dollars. It does not charge a fee to get your money back.

Not all are such good value. Thomas Cook’s prepaid card would buy
$158.90 for £100. But converting back, you’d get only £86.41, after
being stung by an exchange rate of $1.84 to every pound.

And it charges £6 online to get the balance back from your card —
although this service is free if you go into a shop and the company says
it will match rivals’ buyback currency rates where necessary.